Saddle.



No. 854,086. PATBNTED MAY 21, 1.907.

J. H. GIL'LESP'IEQ SADDLE. .gPPLIoA'rIoN HLED JUNE s, 1906.

wi h1 @sus J. H. 'GILLESPII'L SADDLE. APPLIUATIOH FILED JUNE a, 190e.

PATENTED MAY 21. 1907,

2 SHEETS-SHEET sweutoz annunci!! iiirENr onirica.

JOI-IN H. GILLESPIE, OF BEALLSVILLE, OHIO.

SADDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application filed June 8, 1906. Serial No. 320,817.

To all 'Ll/71,011?, it m1/,ty concern.

Be it known that I, .JOHN H. GILLEsrIE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beallsville, in the county of Monroe, State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Saddles; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art toA which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention has relation to saddle-trees for the construction ofriding saddles for horses and it is the object of my invention toprovide such improvements as will enable saddles to iit more comfortablyon the horses back than heretofore and, by reason of a fuller and freerventilation than has heretofore been provided, to prevent the gallingand the formation of sores on the horse.

The nature of the invention embodies improvements which comprise meansfor forming an easy spring seat for the rider, yielding laterally aswell as forwardly and back wardly, and, at the same time, making itrelatively easy for the horse to bear.`

Other irriprovements of a material character constitute the nature ofthe invention, and will. be clearly disclosed in the detaileddescription hereinafter given.

I will proceed at once with a disclosure of the improvements made by megiving 'the best form in which I think they may be embodied havingreference to the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification,and of whichy Figure 1 is a side view of the invention part of a paddingto the saddle being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a plan of the improvedsaddle without padding or trimming. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section.Fig. i is a transverse section looking toward the front'. Fig. 5 is asimilar view looking toward the rear.

Similar gures of reference designate similar parts or features, as thecase may be, wherever they occur.

In the drawings, 10, 10 designate the wooden side bars of the saddletree, which may be made of usual form or modified in accordance withcircumstances.

11 is the front cross-bar connecting the front ends of the side-bars,and curving uplwardly and over high enough to protect and keep out ofcontact with the Withers of the horse. At the rear the side-bars areconnected by the two cross-bars 12, 12, which may be arranged toproperly separate the side bars at the said point, and are made to forma connection and support for the inner end of the longitudinallyarranged strap 13,`

the rear end being curved into a small loop or ring 14, which receives apin 15 projecting through the lower ends of the arms 16, formed bybifurcating the lower part of the connecting link 17.

18, 18 designate side seat-springs formed from Va single length of asteel rod, or similar material, that at its ends is secured to the frontends of the 4side-bars, and extending first forward are bent upward,downward and backward over the curve of the front crossbar 1 1, insymmetrical recurvate bends, forming a base for the pommel. The loop ofthe rod at the rear part is bent upwardly and expanded outwardly,forming the cantle 19, to

y which the upper end of the link 17 is loosely connected. At theirsidesthe springs 18 extend above the wooden side-bars 10, so as to not onlyafford ample room for springing motion to said sides, but when thesaddle is properly covered or upholstered, there may be free circulationof air between the sidesprings and side-bars and other parts of thesaddle. The form of the springs 18 allow of sufficient movement forwardbodily of the seat, when the rider is mounted and occupies the same, butalso of backward and upward and downward movement, as may be securedfrom an easy rocking chair seat. The link 17 connecting the cantle withthe outer end of the spring strap 18 limits the upward movement of theseat-springs at the rear, and assists in making the motion easy anddevoid of jolts and jerks.

It is obvious that changes may be made within the scope of mechanicalskill, in the form and arrangement of parts constituting the invention,without materially affecting the construction and mode of operation ofthe various parts, or without interfering with the general nature orscope of the invention.

What is claimed as the invention, is

1. The combination, with the side bars and cross connections, of theseat springs, oonnected at their front ends to the side-bars, andextending forward and bent upward over and rearward in recurvatebends,forming the base of the pommel, the rear portion of the springbeing expanded into a broadened loop and bent upward to constitute thecantle, the sides of the spring extending nearly parallel with the sidebars and above the same, the longitudinally arranged spring IIO strapconnected at its inner end with the bent upward, over, downward, andrearward cross connections of the side bars, and the bi- -furoated linkpivotally connected at its lower end with the outer end of the springstrap, and at its upper end with the cantle portion of the saddlespring.

in recurvate bends, the eXtreme ends being rendered attaohable to theside-bars, and resilient means connecting the rear of the cantle withthe rearward part ofthe side-bars.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature,

2. The combination, with the side-bars and in presence of two witnesses.

their connections, of the spring-seat consisting of a length of wireformed into a loop at its rear end expanded laterally and bent upwardly,forming the cantle, the front portions extending forward and the endsbeing JOHN H. GILLESPIE.

Vitnesses OLIVER JACKSON, BENJ. LITTLE.

